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Thursday, April 23, 2015

Ash from Volcán Calbuco in Southern Chile

This has been a VERY unusual day in the mission. Volcano Calbuco has erupted in Southern Chile, and
we are in the wind pattern to receive ash from this volcano! At first we thought that only Bariloche and
Villa la Angostura would be affected by this, but tonight we are in Zapala and
it looks like a mild snow storm here.
There is just a thin coat of ash everywhere and it appears to be
overcast, but it is the ash from the volcano in the air. These photos are from our location in Zapala.

Today we were
made aware that San Martin, Neuquen, El Bolson and Roca have also received
ash. The Sisters in Villa la Angostura
texted me late this afternoon and said there was about an inch of ash
everywhere there.

Last night, President Lovell called the emergency department of the church to let them know
about the volcano and to get their advice. They were already monitoring the
situation. President Lovell told them
that all of our missionaries will be staying in their pensions or using a mask
of some kind if they need to go out for a short time. They said this was appropriate, and they would
continue to watch and let us know if there is anything else we should do. We also called the Area Presidency so they are
aware of what is happening.

The
missionaries have been asked to have extra water and food in their pensions. The main thing
we wanted you to know is that all the missionaries are fine and seem to be in
good spirits. We will keep you posted
about the missionaries in the affected areas. In the meantime, you can monitor the volcano
on the internet.